Flash floods kill 37 in Morocco

An area affected by the flood.

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The death toll from flash floods that hit the Moroccan coastal town of Safi over the weekend rose to 37, local authorities said Monday.

“Fourteen people are currently being treated at Mohammed V hospital in Safi, including two in intensive care,” local authorities added in their statement.

Search and rescue operations continued on Monday, after the deadliest such severe weather event in Morocco in over a decade.

Images on social media showed a torrent of muddy water sweeping cars and rubbish bins from the streets in Safi, which sits around 300 kilometres (186 miles) south of the capital Rabat.

Severe weather and flooding are not uncommon in Morocco, which is struggling with a severe drought for the seventh consecutive year.

The General Directorate of Meteorology (DGM) said 2024 was Morocco’s hottest year on record, while registering an average rainfall deficit of -24.7 percent.

Moroccan autumns are typically marked by a gradual drop in temperatures, but climate change has affected weather patterns and made storms more intense because a warmer atmosphere holds more moisture and warmer seas can turbocharge the systems.

Flash floods killed hundreds in Morocco in 1995.

AFP

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